Richard Wigglesworth remains confident that all of England's players will recover in time for their Rugby World Cup opener against Argentina, despite a significant number of injured players.
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England's attack coach played down concerns about the injury status of the Red Rose squad as they prepare for their first Pool D match against Argentina in Marseille this Saturday.
Tom Curry, who missed England's entire World Cup warm-up program due to an ankle issue and did not train on Friday, faces a tight race against time to be fit for the game. He would have been a definite starter if healthy. Manu Tuilagi has not been able to participate in full training, Elliot Daly has been managing a calf problem, George Martin has a knee complaint, and Kyle Sinckler had a chest injury.
“There are a few little bumps and bruises like everyone has, but I think we will go into next weekend with a pretty clean bill of health,” said Wigglesworth.
“Tom Curry should be good to go, we are hopeful everyone is going to be ready. We don’t know yet but we think we should be good going in.
“Courtney Lawes is a bit sore from training on Friday, so we decided the best thing for him was not to sit in a chair for an hour or so, then have to stand up.
He is resting at the hotel, he is a bit sore from training, the pitch was heavy because of the rain. It’s nothing too serious, we are just looking after him.”
However, two players who will miss the game are captain Owen Farrell and No 8 Billy Vunipola will miss the Pumas clash through suspension
Jonny Wilkinson dream team:
FRONT-ROW
1. Jason Leonard (England): He was seen by Wilkinson as “someone who inspired and brought energy to the game” with impact.
2. Keith Wood (Ireland): “You need someone here in this position who can bring you the set piece control but at the same time I think they need to be aggressive, be someone that runs hard, someone that doesn’t stop, never gives up.”
3. Craig Dowd (New Zealand): “As with all tight heads what you want is someone who doesn’t take no for an answer, someone who is maybe a little quieter but someone you just don’t mess with”
SECOND-ROW
4. Bakkies Botha (South Africa): "Someone incredibly fierce but very very down to earth” and “at times he’s exactly what a team needs.”
5. Martin Johnson (England): “intelligent, another massive leader, gets himself around the park. My captain"
BACK-ROW
6. Richard Hill (England): “A guy that stood the test of time and has remained at the best, the highest level of the game for that time. The best.most consistent player I played with.”
7. Richie McCaw (New Zealand): “A guy that stood the test of time and has remained at the best, the highest level of the game for that time.”
8. Pat Lam (Samoa): “He was one of the most creative, instinctive players as well as bringing his own brand of leadership and the way he saw the game.”
HALFBACKS
9. Gary Armstrong (Scotland): “The sheer aggression and resilience of the guy, his sheer character meant that anything, any ball that wasn’t good enough to go out to the number ten was never going to go out to the number ten. He would deal with everything himself and that meant control of the game”
10. Lynagh, Carter, Larkham, Stransky, Fox: “This is the key position for any World Cup winning team. You need guys that are going to lead and continue to do so right to the final seconds when it gets very, very tough. I can't just pick one."
CENTRES
12. Tim Horan (Australia): “A guy that knew how to win, knew how to play the game. His body language suggested he didn’t really know how to fail or what mistakes were, what under performance was.”
13. Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland): “The ability to change the game in a second, a heartbeat, with his movement, with his skill, his game reading but also his leadership.”
BACK-THREE
11. Jonah Lomu (New Zealand): “The guy is quite a remarkable rugby legend and deserves to be so. No Rugby World cup team would be complete without him.”
14. Jason Robinson (England): “His flair, his game reading, his sheer explosivity to really change a game is something that sticks in my memory. We wouldn't have won the World Cup without him,”
15. Serge Blanco (France): "He typified French rugby at its best with his audacity, ambition and flair. He was most famous for his scintillating counter-attacks, frequently running the ball out of seemingly impossible situations."
